Coinciding with the grape harvest of 2003, Tomàs Cusiné decided to embark on a new wine producing project; one into which he could put all of his passion and knowledge for producing the finest wines. His aim, as always, was to elaborate wines full of character that were capable of fully reflecting the characteristics of the soils from which they were produced. He also wished to take up the challenge of producing wines that reflected his personal wine-making philosophy.
To date, Tomàs Cusiné’s wide experience with the Costers del Segre Denomination of Origen and the guarantees offered by his vines have allowed his winery to produce wines that are synonymous with personality and elegance. But this is just the beginning of an ambitious long-term project that seeks to fully consolidate the bodega as a prestigious winery by the year 2013.
The winery is located in the village of El Vilosell, in the local district of Les Garrigues, in Lleida province. This area, which belongs to the DO Costers del Segre, meets all of the requirements for growing first class grapes and obtaining wines of the finest quality.
The estate is located on the north face of the Sierra de la Llena ridge and at an altitude of between 700 and 740 metres above sea level. This area falls within the DO of Costers del Segre, and it is border with the province of Tarragona and the comarcas of Conca de Barberà and Priorat.
The different plots mainly lie on north and north-east facing slopes, with differing soil types and degrees of exposure. These are mainly calcareous soils, containing varying amounts of gravel that have straightforward structures and tend to be fresh and limey with a good degree of permeability.
The local climate is moderate, but with a large diurnal temperature range and with annual rainfall between 380 and 600 mm per year. These conditions
guarantee gradual maturing with quite late grape harvests that are responsible for the wines smooth tannins and very intense colour.
In recent years, the winery has planted 29 hectares of its land with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Garnacha, Cariñena, Marselan,
Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc... The winery has also acquired grapes grown under its supervision from other vineyards in the local area.
The time and effort dedicated to the vineyards make this estate a model to follow and a shining example of the winery’s philosophy. This dedication involves planting 5,000 vine stocks per hectare, the effort implicit in creating a perfectly designed plantation, training the vines on posts of acacia, conserving examples of traditional rural architecture and looking after the local countryside.
2006 is the first harvest from our own plantations, and its results, encourage us to ensure a constantly quality increase.
Tomàs Cusiné has opted for obtaining degrees of maturity that maintain a careful equilibrium between the phenolic and acidic components of his wines. He thereby avoids over-maturing his wines or producing excessive levels of tannins and ensures that his wines are elegant, complex, fresh and longer lasting.
At harvest, the grapes are collected in 200 kg boxes and refrigerated before they are sorted. There is then a cold pre-maceration in tank, followed by a slow fermentation at a constant low temperature, with the aim of conserving
both the rich taste of the fruit and the freshness of the harvest.
Once taken from the vats, the wines undergo malolactic and are then aged in 225-litre, fine-grained French-oak barrels that are carefully chosen from the stock of leading barrel-makers as François Fréres, Nadalie, Seguin Moreau,
Demptos, Sylvain and Boutes.
The production of 2006 vintage is 195.100 bottles, and some magnums.